Southern LACs

^Yup, names like Southwestern conjure up images of directional state universities.

dadof1- I appreciate your opinions and observations regarding Rhodes and Florida Southern. We are leaving the decision to S. All three finalists have good qualities, and only he can decide which is the right fit for him personally.

My alma mater (Northwestern) doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, but in general I agree!

We are back from our tours of Southwestern and Trinity in TX. Southwestern is fantastic, and is now #1 on D’s (ever changing) list. Let’s put it this way: in the 15 or so college visits we’ve made, she has never asked to buy a t-shirt. This time, she got 3! Once the college bling is out on display, its fair to say a decision has (at least tentatively) been made. D received a nice merit award ($21k) and COA is on the lower side, so that helps.

The weather was horrible the day of the Open House (cold, rainy, windy, overcast). Still, a very positive visit. In case anyone is interested, here’s the long version:

As I mentioned before, the campus is beautiful. Most of the older buildings are in the Romanesque style, and the newer buildings blend in seamlessly, all constructed of Texas limestone. The facilities are incredible for such a small school (now 1500 students, up from 1300). It helps to have generous donors like TX billionaire Red McCombs (after whom a few impressive buildings are named). The campus is huge, 700 acres, but much of that is undeveloped space. The main buildings are all very walkable, centered around a green academic mall. But, if a student would rather use a bike to get around, there are numerous yellow bikes parked around campus for any and all to use - just take the bike and leave it for the next person.

Having all these “free” bikes out for anyone to take indicates, of course, the safety of the campus and nearby town. The town of Georgetown itself is cute, with Victorian homes and some shops and restaurants. It has a small-town feel, but Ikea, outlet malls, and everything else are a 5-10 minute drive away and Austin is just 20-30 minutes down the road.

Back to the facilities - Unique to Southwestern is its separate School of Fine Arts, which is housed in a beautiful building with 2 separate auditoriums, classrooms, gallery and meeting spaces, all surrounded by student-made art pieces. The gallery is beautiful. SU is proud of its art school and encourages (requires?) students in all majors to take at least one class in fine and/or performing arts.

The dorms are very nice. Every dorm on campus is suite-style, with a shared bathroom (no going down the hall to the communal bath). All dorms receive housekeeping service twice a week, which includes trash removal and bathroom cleaning. The upperclass residences are apartment style, with a kitchen, living area, and private bedrooms. The exteriors of all dorms are very nice, and many have balconies.

We attended a day-long open house, which was very well done. Parents and students were encouraged to separate, and given several choices for activities each hour. My D attended 2 (real) classes - one in Kinesiology/Anatomy, and one in Psychology. She enjoyed them both.

For lunch, rather than let everyone loose in the dining hall, as usual, they provided a catered luncheon in the Student Center ballroom, which was very nice. Students had assigned seats, according to their academic interests, and there was at least one professor in that academic area at each table. Parents sat at tables with professors as well, and there was a speaker after lunch, a recent SU grad who spoke about her experiences and why she was grateful to have attended SU (currently a grad student and TA at UT Austin, she was able to contrast the small class experience at SU to UT’s 300+ student lectures).

One of the most impressive things about the school, I think, is its president, Dr. Burger. He is not only an accomplished academic (math prof. at Williams for many years, numerous publications and awards), but also an engaging, friendly, strong presence on campus. I was able to personally thank him for the phone call he made to our D on Christmas Eve, congratulating our D on her acceptance. (I know others, like @dadof1 received this call as well; we really appreciated the personal touch). He spoke to my 8 year old daughter about her favorite math topics and even gave her a funny math problem to solve. At the beginning of the Open House, he gave a talk emphasizing the school’s close-knit character and interdisciplinary approach to everything. He mentioned how every student is invited to a dinner at his home, together with other professors and students, to discuss different topics. He has done great things so far at SU, and I think he will continue to be a great leader.

SU also does well placing its students in internships. More than 70% of students have at least one internship during their time at SU, many have multiple internships. Its Career Office was rated #9 in the nation (including large universities) by the Princeton Review.

What most impressed my D, however, were the students. She found them to be “down to earth,” “not at all pretentious,” “serious students,” but “quirky,” “fun” people with whom she felt right at home. Although there are many students from TX, SU did not feel “Southern” or even “Texan” at all, to me or D. I think its location, near Austin, really helps. And considering the looming presence of UT, any student who chooses SU over the large flagship really must want to be in that smaller, intimate environment.

Something like 30% of students join a fraternity or sorority. There are 4 fraternity houses on campus, but no sorority houses. As with many LACs, the Greek scene does not sound like a huge commitment or distraction. The school just revived its varsity football and women’s lacrosse programs.

What are the downsides? I think it is not at all well-known, something the school is working on. Otherwise, can’t think of any other negatives (maybe the weather in the summer).

Still waiting to hear from a couple more schools, and waiting for final FA details everywhere, but looks like D could be a Pirate next fall!

Sounds like a great experience at Southwestern! Will you post a trip report for Trinity as well?

Here’s my Trinity U report, much shorter than SU.

Trinity’s campus is very nice, lots of trees and greenery. It definitely felt much more urban than SU - it really is right in the city, very close to downtown San Antonio. The architecture is attractive, all well-maintained modern red brick buildings. To me, this more modern style is just not as appealing as the traditional Gothic and similar styes, so I immediately liked it less than many campuses we’ve toured, but it did not seem to bother D. She liked it.

Overall, Trinity felt less like a LAC, more like a tiny university. The program overall seemed a little less personal than the SU open house, though everyone was very nice and helpful. One thing we really enjoyed was the mock Humanities seminar we attended. The professor was very interesting and engaging, and the classrooms (in the art building), were very nice, state of the art.

During one session, professors in different departments were at separate stations, available to speak to students. I noticed that almost all of the available professors represented STEM majors - no English or Sociology or Art History professors hanging out, for example. This is consistent with the impression I have that Trinity is very strong in and appealing to Engineering and science majors.

We had lunch in the main dining hall, which offered many choices, and the food was decent. Our admissions counselor met us for lunch, which was very nice.

The dorms were very large, with huge closets. Like SU, the dorms are suite-style, with housekeeping provided every two weeks to clean bathrooms and even bedrooms (they emphasized, however, only surfaces that are free of clutter are cleaned!)

San Antonio itself is a fun city, of course, and it would seem to be a great place to be a student.

I must say, I thought the library was not particularly appealing, aesthetically, but I’m sure it does the job.

Overall, it seems like a very strong school and definitely worth looking at.

D was awarded $19k in merit, so slightly less than Southwestern.

I will try to post pictures of both campuses in the trip report section.

Great report on Southwestern, 4kids. I’ve always really admired that school. One of their alums, the writer J. Frank Dobie, helped save the Texas Longhorn cattle from extinction.

We lived in central Texas, north of Austin, for seven years, and have been back numerous times since. It’s a terrific area. We found the people to be warm, the food wonderful, and the melding of cultures fascinating. I’m sure your D will have a wonderful experience if she decides to attend!

As promised, here is our visit report to Rhodes College.

As noted above, the weather was nasty. Rhodes had to cancel classes Monday and Tuesday this week, apparently the first “snow” days in 6 years. Then, the day of our full visit on Friday, they had freezing rain, forcing cancellation of classes after 2PM–much the delight of the student body, I might add!

We arrived late on Thursday afternoon. We were met and assisted by a very friendly and efficient (and flexible) Admissions staff. They could not have been more helpful and accommodating. S was lined up with an overnight, we picked out classes for Friday, and I toddled off the downtown Marriott.

Downtown Memphis was a skating rink. Apparently they just are not equipped to handle weather like this, and there were vast stretched of unsalted ice throughout. I slid over to a local BBQ joint and had a super rack of ribs with local mustard/vinegar slaw, for a modest $20. I had a chance to visit with folks at the bar of the restaurant, where I ate. The best comment I heard was: “Memphis has a ton of soul, and a ton of crime”. I think this might be pretty accurate. I was aggressively panhandled multiple times on the 3 block walk to and from the restaurant, and if I were a woman alone I would have been very uncomfortable.

S had a terrific time on his overnight visit. Kids were welcoming, and he tagged along for a evening’s worth of activities. S is a bit shy, but had zero problem connecting with the group of host’s friends, and a had a very fun and informative evening.

We met the next day, and he went to a Biology class at 9, a Southern Literature class at 11, and a Computer Science class at 1. I hung out, wandered around campus, and then went on the formal tour at 1. We skipped the informational session at 2, since he has already applied and been accepted, and weather was moving in from the west and we had to hit the road.

S really enjoyed all 3 classes. They had a substitute teacher for Biology (Prof’s wife?), but he thought the Lit and CS Prof’s were excellent. He enjoyed the small classrooms, and the seminar style of teaching and ready access to the professors.

Following the format from the earlier reviews way up-thread, here are the Pro’s and Con’s:

Pro’s:

Beautiful Campus: Homogenous tan stonework throughout, definitely evokes the “Hogwarts” theme people repeatedly mention. Facilities are in excellent shape, the new, underground Biology building is outstanding, and despite the weather there was no concealing its charm.

Nice People!: I have read some reviews in books and online suggesting that perhaps it is “Southern” or “too preppy”. Coming from the perspective of a Midwesterner, I saw and experienced none of that. If anything, I thought the students were more quirky and individualistic than preppy. Our S would fit right in here. Only 18% come from within 250 miles, and there were kids from all over the country at Rhodes, with obvious ethnic diversity as well.

Generous Merit Aid: Our S did not get offered the tippy-top scholarship, but was offered a very generous scholarship that makes this relatively affordable. Anecdotal evidence is that they use their endowment generously for both FA and merit aid.

Solid academics: This is a bit tough to evaluate in a whirlwind 24 hours, but the school’s milieu seems academically oriented, but not oppressively so. There is a class gift in the corner of the library, which is glass case enclosing a large cudgel shaped “Zombie Smasher”, with clearly marked instructions to break the glass in case of a “Zombie Apocalypse”. I don’t think every school would have that in their library


Access: 15 minutes to Memphis airport. Located on major interstate.

Residential College: Students are guaranteed access to on-campus housing all 4 years. There are opportunities for living in townhouses or apartments, I believe starting Junior year.

Food: Seemed good to me, and they renovated the “Rat”, their main dining hall 2 years ago, with all kinds of choices like large salad bar, Asian, made-to-order pasta bar, pizza, gluten free offerings, etc. The main dining hall has the dark wood tables and chairs, and each year they stage a “wizards duel” on top of the tables, ala Harry Potter.

Opportunities: Rhodes is 5 minutes from St. Judes Childrens research hospital, and offers a plethora of service and research opportunities. Biology is the largest major at Rhodes, with many, many pre-med or pre-health students. If your child is headed that way, they will have every opportunity to excel at Rhodes.

Service: Rhodes routinely wins national awards for involvement in student service activities. They have a dedicated office to pair students with a wide variety of service opportunities, primarily in the greater Memphis area, and the students do, indeed, participate at a very high rate–we were quoted 78%.

Honor Code: All matriculating students sign it in a formal setting, and it appears to take hold. Backpacks containing laptops were routinely dropped off outside the dining hall, or left in the library or other study areas. Many students don’t lock dorm rooms, and, according to all we spoke to, academic cheating is basically non-existent. That really appealed to our S.

Con’s:

Memphis: The school is in a lovely neighborhood, with the zoo across the street, but it is a large urban area with crime issues. Many students do go off campus for food and entertainment, but I would make sure my child is smart about that, and travel in groups. This is not unlike advice for any urban area in the country. The school has a large iron gate on the perimeter, with a gate controlling access. We saw security several times during our visit, and they patrol at night.

Dorms: These are pretty tired–at least the three we collectively saw–and will need some TLC to fix up. You will need to visit Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Drinking/Drugs: During S’s overnight, this was candidly addressed. No surprise, but it a wet campus and they have non-residential frat buildings on campus that are the hub of this party activity. No stigma claimed for not participating, but they are certainly present. Sororities are not allowed to host social events, only the frats. More women in sororities than men in frats.

Summary: This is a lovely school, with nice faculty and students. This is an especially attractive option for students pursuing pre-med, but want small classes and close faculty attention and interaction. If a student is considering pediatric medicine, I cannot imaging a stronger option with access to St. Judes moments away.

Bump to update Rhodes visit report


Great report on Rhodes @coldinMinny! Our D did not apply (because husband objected to location), but it sounds like a wonderful place.

Further updating my Southwestern report, D has been emailing with the women’s lacrosse coach, and it sounds like she would have a place on the team at SU. This is another huge plus for her. D did not specifically choose schools based on whether she would be able to get on the team, but having this opportunity is pretty great. It is a new team - SU is only the second college in Texas to field a varsity women’s lacrosse team - so she would be traveling all over the South, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest to compete.

I still would love for her to give Agnes Scott another chance, as she has been invited to compete for a full ride at a scholars program next weekend. We have signed up, but no airline tickets purchased at this point


And she will visit Centre one more time. Centre sent D an email inviting her to visit again and offering to reimburse her for airfare, pick her up at the airport, and pay for all meals during her visit. So why not?! I’m sure other students have received this offer as well. I think it is very smart for Centre to do this. Other colleges offer a travel “scholarship,” (Hendrix for example) but only if the student ultimately attends. Centre’s offer has no strings attached.

I think she would be happy at any one of these schools.

This has been a fun thread. Thanks to all for participating. Can’t wait to hear how it turns out for all who will be deciding in the next few months.

Great trip report on Rhodes, @ColdinMinny‌. S is a freshman at Rhodes and I ran it by him, just to get his take on it. The only part he took issue with was the description of the safety of Memphis. His view is that people are too scared of Memphis and that he’s never felt in danger in Midtown or downtown (the two areas students are most likely to go), even when it has been just he and a friend. As he said, “Just don’t be stupid and go to South or North Memphis – you’d have to go out of your way to go somewhere dangerous.”

Of course, he’s a student and we’re parents, with parental concerns (and I’m sure the reality is somewhere in the middle) but I, too, have never felt unsafe on any of my five visits to campus and Memphis. And on the flip side, the city of Memphis offers great opportunities for civic engagement and meaningful service – along with great BBQ, entertainment, and sports. We’ve both been very happy with his experience at Rhodes so far.

@julesgr So glad that our review roughly comports to your S’s direct experiences at Rhodes.

On the safety issue, I stayed downtown at the Marriott, and walked 3 blocks to get BBQ at the Rendezvous. Food was terrific, but I was accosted by aggressive panhandlers multiple times walking to and from the restaurant. Again, I would not want my wife or an unaccompanied woman to be walking around downtown. I know nothing about South or North Memphis.

I am sure the students use common sense, which would be prudent in any city.

Cold and 4kids, you’ve written great reviews. Thanks for putting in the time and thought to make these reviews so helpful.

Thanks @dadof1‌ ! Look forward to your upcoming reviews!

^^^ I am too
 whenever we get the chance to escape the frozen north!

Hey #4kids4colleges. I think you guys should go look at Agnes Scott. I’m a huge fan of women’s colleges (Wellesley alum and my daughter is going to Hollins) but you really have to visit. Your daughter will know quite soon whether or not a women’s college is for her. She’ll either fall in love with the culture, the sisterhood, the role models, etc. or she won’t. It would be a shame not to consider it as an option without visiting, since you really can’t get a sense of what a women’s college is about from a brochure or website. (My daughter is one of those who never thought she’d go to one but she fell in love when she visited.)

Hello fellow Seven Sisters alum @Momzie! I too am a huge, huge fan of women’s colleges. I went to Bryn Mawr, and it was one of the very best things that ever happened to me. I wanted D to apply to more women’s colleges on the East Coast, but between the high COA, relatively little merit aid, and Northeast weather, she ultimately said no to BMC, MoHo, etc.

We did visit Agnes Scott, and we both liked it a lot. We spent the weekend in Decatur and both felt like it was the perfect location. However, our actual tour of campus was rushed since we were on our way to an appointment at Sewanee the same day. She did not get much time to interact with students. I think if she does do the overnight she might be sold (either she will or she won’t - just exactly as you said).

Unfortunately getting out to Atlanta is difficult and expensive from our small town. Still, I think it will be worth it, and I am trying to find a way to get either her alone or both of us there for the Scholars Weekend - this weekend! The weather is not helping. We will have to drive to a larger airport 6 or so hours away. Wish us luck. I will of course report back.

@4kids4colleges, I am enjoying following your reports and travels on this thread and the one you started regarding LAC’s with merit. You have done an amazing job with your detailed reports. Thank you!

My S is a junior interested in Chemistry with music as an extra-curricular - and no shenanigans - as another parent on CC put it. Trinity is on his list. Southwestern - we almost missed completely - so looking now to add a day there during our spring break. The page for Southwestern on CC leaves a lot to be desired, so if your D attends, maybe you can bring some positive energy there. Our kids get ONE approved absentee day in their junior year and two during senior year for college visits. Argghhh!

Question - when did Westminster in Utah fall off the top of your D’s list? Was it the weather? Your report from there has me wanting to visit!

The contributers to this thread have so many great insights and observations. They offer much useful information for those looking at schools that might not be on the usual radar. The visit reports and the discussion of financial aid has been especially helpful.

Hi @lots2do. I definitely recommend visiting Southwestern while you are out to see Trinity. The two campuses feel very different to me, but both are quite nice. Its an easy drive from San Antonio to Austin. Trinity seems to be especially strong in the natural sciences. SU is finishing up a major renovation/addition to its science building, which should be completed Spring 2016, so just in time for your S!

I agree SU gets very little love on CC, which is a shame. It is a real gem in my opinion. To me, it has much more of a traditional, small, LAC feel (in a good way).

Westminster is still on the list, but after seeing so many other colleges, it seemed a little small to us both. The campus is pretty tiny. The weather in Salt Lake City is fantastic in my opinion (pretty similar to where we live now - lots of sun, not too cold). One thing started to bug me about Westminster
 many kids live off campus Jr and Sr year, because they do not have enough on-campus housing. I really would like my D to be at a school with a true residential campus. Still, Westminster has a lot going for it.

For those of us applying this year, I suggest when all the dust settles maybe we could all share our merit/other FA results for the benefit of future families. I know I spent tons of time combing this site and others for this information!

Thanks @eli1067 and for all the other posters here!